The Mifflin Street Block Party this weekend is a time for the UW-Madison community to come together and enjoy itself. On the last weekend before finals, Mifflin gives students one more chance forget their worries and party before the end of the semester.
Last year, Mifflin went off very well. The Madison police department did an excellent job controlling the thousands of revelers on the street, and students also did a good job of looking out for the safety of one another. The result was one of the most successful Mifflin Street Block Parties in years. Crime and injuries were kept to a minimum, and as a result most everyone had as fun and safe a time as could be expected with so many people crowded into three blocks.
We hope Mifflin goes as well this year as it did last year, for both the safety of the students and to assure the police department that we can have wild events that are still inherently secure. Unfortunately, the police themselves have imposed an obstacle which might prevent this contained revelry from safely occurring.
By imposing a limit of four kegs per household during the Mifflin festivities, the police might have opened up a can of worms. This policy looks like it is designed to curb the amount of alcohol consumption of partyers and increase the ability of the police to control the crowd. However, we fear that this plan might backfire.
Less alcohol available at the party will mean more people will bring their own liquor-which means more empty liquor bottles for throwing. Furthermore, four kegs is an arbitrary limit; we have not seen any evidence that four kegs is the number of kegs for Mifflin. The police feel the need to micromanage this event because they expect the worst-even though last year's block party worked out for the best.
This year prove the police department wrong. Make this year's Mifflin Street Block Party even more successful than last year's. Party hearty, of course, but take responsibility for your own actions and those of your friends. Walk in groups and do not venture into dark corners of strange houses, women, as the primary targets of sexual assault, should be especially wary; an atmosphere like Mifflin can be conducive to sexual and physical assault. And remember that, ill-advised decrees or not, the police are on your side.
The Mifflin Street Block Party can be one of the most fun and most dangerous experiences for a student at UW-Madison. Let's keep the danger at a minimum so we can have the best event possible.
